Their target was a Brussels concert hall, the date was already concrete: this is what we know about teenagers who planned a terrorist attack (Domestic)

The federal police raided four addresses on Sunday morning, looking for four teenagers. According to our information, state security recently tracked them down. They are between 15 and 18 years old. They live far apart: the youngest lived in Ninove in East Flanders, and the eldest in Liège. The other two lived in Brussels and Charleroi. The French-speaking young people had met each other in an online chat group, on an application such as Telegram.

From those conversations it could be concluded that they had been radicalized. They also dropped the name ‘Islamic State’. Although the terrorist organization seems to have faded away since the end of 2017, ‘ISIS’ is still a brand name among radical youth.

They also had discussions about committing a terrorist attack. A target was mentioned, in our country. The four also discussed a specific date. They talked, among other things, about a performance they were planning in a Brussels concert hall.

Bluff or concrete plan?

It was very difficult to determine whether it was a bluff by a group of teenagers or whether they had a very concrete plan. But because the proposed date was getting closer, the court decided on Sunday morning to arrest them preventively.

“We intervene in such a situation. Better too early than too late,” the federal public prosecutor said.

“The four are suspected of participating in a terrorist group and of preparing a terrorist attack,” says Eric Van Der Sypt of the federal public prosecutor’s office.

No weapons or explosives were found during the searches. The four were interrogated for a whole day on Sunday by the federal judicial police of Liège, and they will spend Sunday night in a cell. The 18-year-old from Liège will probably appear before the investigating judge on Monday. His three companions will probably appear before the juvenile judge.

“No surprise”

The youngest was barely 15 years old and had been living in Ninove since this summer. His home there was searched, but he himself was arrested at another suspect’s home in Brussels. It is no surprise to the security services that such young teenagers become involved in a terrorist plot.

The security services counted 41% more extremist threats last year. The terrorist attack by Abdesalem Lassoued (photo) was one of 332 threats. — © if

The OCAD, the Belgian threat analysis body, warned last week that there would be no less than 41% more threats related to terrorism or extremism in 2023. They counted 332 threat reports. About 7% of those threats were serious. The assassination attempt by Abdesalem Lassoued on two Swedish tourists was one of them.

Younger and younger

At the beginning of this year, State Security (VSSE) warned in its annual report that more and more minors appear in files related to ideological extremism. “They also appear to be getting younger,” the report concludes. “Where some time ago 17 or 18 year olds appeared in studies, now young people aged around 16 and even 15 years old also stand out. Although these are very limited figures.”

“Most files concern young people who become radicalized online or incite others to hatred and violence. In a number of cases, these minors make threats via anonymous accounts on social media. After identification and research, it appears that these often concern people who had no intention of committing violence themselves. In a limited number of cases, there was such an intention, and the VSSE informed the judicial authorities.”